Game apparatus

ABSTRACT

A pool type game which includes a playing surface over which balls or the like may be propelled, with a plurality of ball receiving pockets disposed about the playing surface and a bumper rail surrounding the playing surface. A ball propelling device is pivotally mounted for 360* rotation on the playing surface and is spaced from the bumper rail for propelling balls over the surface in any direction away from the propelling device. The propelling device has an impact member which may be selectively cocked and released for striking a ball to propell the ball over the playing surface. A rotating knob is disposed outside of the playing surface and is connected by linkage under the playing surface for rotating the ball propelling device. A depressable button also is disposed outside of the playing surface and is connected by linkage under the playing surface for releasing the impact member when in its cocked position.

United States Patent .1

Barlow 1 1 GAME APPARATUS [75] lnventor: Gordon A. Barlow, Evanston, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Marvin Glass & Associates,

Chicago, Ill.

[22] Filed: Feb. 24, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 229,004

[52] US. Cl. 273/122 R, 124/34, 273/129 [51] Int. Cl A63d 3/02 [58] Field of Search 273/69, 119 R, 122 R, 129,

273/85 A, 85 E, 94 A, 94 E; 124/34 0/1909 France 124/34 [111 3,807,735 [451' Apr. 30, 1974 Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-Theatrice Brown Attorney, Agent, or FirmCoffee and Sweeney [57] ABSTRACT A pool type game which includes a playing surface over which balls or the like may be propelled, with a plurality of ball receiving pockets disposed about the playing surface and a bumper rail surrounding the playing surface. A ball propelling device is pivotally mounted for 360 rotation on the playing surface and is spaced from the bumper rail for propelling balls over the surface in any direction away from the propelling device. The propelling device has an impact member which may be selectively cocked and released for striking a ball to propell the ball over the playing surface. A rotating knob is disposed outside of the playing surface and is connected by linkage under the playing surface for rotating the ball propelling device. A depressable button also is disposed outside of the playing surface and is connected by linkage under the playing surface for releasing the impact member when in its cocked position.

1 Claim, 8 Drawing Figures PRFENTEB APR 30 i974 SHEET 1 [IF 2 PAT FEB APR 30 m4 SHEEI 2 OF 2 GAME APPARATUS BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS This invention relates to a skill type game designed FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pool type game apfor the entertainment of the player, and for developing dexterity and coordination for the individual player, as well as competition between a plurality of players. The invention relates more particularly to game boards of the surface projectile type which require skill both in aiming and in manipulating the propulsion force, and specifically to such a game board in the nature of a pool type device.

As is known, pool type games normally include a playing surface over which balls may be propelled toward one or more pockets disposed at selected positions about the playing surface, particularly at the corners thereof. Cushion or resilient type rail means substantially surround the playing surface and pockets and against which balls are bounced toward other balls or toward the pockets. Typically, elongate shafts, commonly called cue sticks, are utilized by players of the game as propulsion means for manual movement longitudinally thereof to strike a ball with one end of the cue stick. This invention relates to the provision of a new and improved, novel pool type game of the character described, and particularly to such a game apparatus which embodies a novel ball propelling device.

It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide a new and improved, novel pool type game.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, a ball propelling device is pivotally mounted for 360 rotation on the playing surface and is spaced from the bumper rails for propelling balls over the playing surface in any direction away from the propelling device into contact with other balls or the rail means or into one of said pockets.

As shown herein, the ball propelling device includes an elongated plunger member in the form of a ratchet bar which defines an impact member spring biased toward an extended position for engaging or striking a ball to propel the ball over the playing surface. Cocking means in the form of a pawl member is provided engageable with the teeth on the ratchet bar, or-impact member, to selectively cock the impact member in a retracted position, and means is provided to selectively release the impact member by lifting the pawl off of the ratchet bar and permitting the bar, or impact member, to be biased to its extended position for striking a ball.

ling device, the knob being disposed on the base structure of the device outside of the playing surface for manipulation by players of the game to thereby pivot the paratus embodying the concepts of the present invention;

I FIG. 2 is a partial top plan view of the pool type game apparatus of FIG. 1, on an enlarged scale, with a portion of the playing surface broken away to facilitate the illustration of the subjacent supporting structure;

FIG. 3 is a broken away vertical section taken generally along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken generally along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

, FIG. 5 is a vertical section taken generally along the line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a broken away partial perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of the apparatus, with the playing surface and perimeter lip removed to facilitate the illustration;

FIG. 7 is a vertical section, on an enlarged scale, taken generally along the line 7-7 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 8- is a horizontal sectiontaken generally along the line 8 -8 of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings in greater detail, and first to FIG. 1, the pool type game apparatus of the present invention includes a playing surface 10 which is surrounded by bumper rails, generally designated 12, with a plurality of ball receiving pockets 14 disposed at selected positions about the playing surface 10. A ball propelling device, generally designated 16, is pivotally mounted by means (to be described ingreater detail hereinafter) for 360 rotation on the playing surface 10. The ball propelling device is spaced from the bumper rails 12 for propelling-balls 18, or the like, over the playing surface in any direction away from the propelling device 16 into contact with other balls 18 or the bumper rails 12, ordirectly into one of the pockets 14,

depending on the rules or play of the game.

The ball propelling device 16 is actuated and pivoted by means which include portions, indicated generally at 20 in FIG. 1 and to be described in greater detail hereinafter, disposed outside of the playing surface 10 so that the ball propelling device 16 can both be actuated and pivoted without a player actually touching the same by extending his hands or arms over the playing surface. As will be described in greater detail, the portions 20 are connected by linkage beneath the playing surface 10 for actuating and pivoting the ball propelling device 16. The portions 20 are disposed on top of a pcrimeter lip 22 surrounding the playing surface 10 and beneath which the bumper rail means 12 is disposed.

As best seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6, the bumper rails 12 comprise a flexible resilient band 24, fabricated of rubber or other elastic material, each wrapped around a pair of supporting posts 26. One of the resilient bands 24 extends between each of the pockets 14. A rigid supporting rod 28 is received in notches 30 at the top of the posts 26 and provides supporting means therebetween.

Return means are provided between the pockets 14 for the return of balls, which are propelled into the pockets, to one or more accumulation positions. More particularly, as best seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6, channels 42 extend between the corner pockets and side pockets of the apparatus and have bottom walls 42a which are inclined downwardly toward vertical cam surfaces 32b which guide the balls into accumulation positions defined by channel support portions 34 of the base structure of the apparatus.

The playing surface 10, in an exemplary embodiment ,of the invention, is fabricated of a thin, sturdy sheet material 36 (see FIGS. 2 and 7) which is covered'with felt 37 (FIG. 7) or like material and which is disposed on top of a plurality of rigid supporting cross rails 48a, longitudinal rails 48b and diagonal rails 300 of the base structure of the apparatus.

The ball propelling device 16 is best shown in FIGS. 1, 7 and 8 and includes a housing portion 40 within which an impact member 42 is mounted for longitudinal reciprocation in the direction of arrow 44 (FIG. 7). The impact member 42 is biased by a coil spring 46 toward an-extended position for engaging or striking a ball 18 and propelling the ball over the playing surface 10. The impact member 42 comprises a ratchet bar having ratchet teeth 48 which is engageable by a tooth portion 50 of a pawl member, generally designated 52. The pawl member 52 is pivoted by a pin 54 to the sides of the housing 40. A leaf spring 56 engages a saddle portion 58 of the pawl member 52 to bias the tooth portion 50 thereof into engagement with the ratchet teeth 48 of the impact member 42. Thus, it can be seen that the impact member 42 may be selectively cocked by pushing the outer end thereof inwardly of the housing 40 to a retracted or cocked position as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 where the pawl member 50 holds the impact member 42 in its cocked position against the biasing of spring 46. Obviously, to selectively release the impact member 42, the tooth portion 50 of the pawl member 52 must be lifted off of the ratchet teeth 48 of the impact member against the biasing of the leaf spring 56, whereby the coil spring 46 biases the impact member toward its extended position for propelling a ball ,18 over the playing surface 10. The means for lifting the pawl member will be described hereinafter.

In order to pivot the ball propelling device 16 from outside of the playing surface 10, the housing portion 40 of the ball propelling device is pivoted on the playing surface by means of a downwardly depending hollow shaft portion 60 which is received in an annular bearing 62 (FIG. 7) received in complementary recesses in the playing surface (i.e. felt 47, sheet 36 and rib 3811). A cup gear member 64 is press fit onto the lower end of the shaft portion 60 of the housing 40, with the gear teeth 64a thereof pointing downwardly. A knob 66 is rotatably mounted on the perimeter lip 22 by means of a downwardly depending hollow shaft 66a which has a cup gear member 68 at the lower end thereof. As with the gear member 64, the gear member 68 has downwardly pointed gear teeth 68a. A connecting rod 70 is journalled in downwardly depending brackets 72 (FIG. 7) on the underside of the apparatus and has gear members 70a and 70b on opposite ends thereof in mesh with the teeth of the cup gear members 64 and 68, respectively. Thus, it will be apparent that rotation of the knob 66, through the gear member 68,.connecting rod 70 and its gears 70a, 70b, and the gear member 64, will pivot the ball propelling device 16 through a full and continuous 360.

The means for selectively releasing the impact member 42 by raising the pawl member 52 is best shown in FIG. 7. Such means includes a button 74 received in a recess 76 in the top of and centrally of the rotating knob 66. The knob 74 is disposed on top of a plunger 78 for vertical reciprocation in the direction of arrow 80, the plunger extending through the hollow shaft portion 66a.'The lower end of the plunger has a disc portion 82 which rests on one end of a lever member 84 which rests in the brackets 72. A pin member 86 extends through the hollow shaft portion 60 of the housing 40 of the ball propelling device 16 and has a disc portion 88 which rests on the opposite end of the lever 84. With this structure, when a player depresses the button 74 to move the lower end of the plunger 78 downwardly in the direction of arrow A (FIG. 7), the righthand end of the lever 84 will be moved downwardly therewith to pivot the lefthand end of the lever 84 upwardly in the direction of arrow B, as the righthand bracket 72 acts as a fulcrum. Movement of the lefthand end of lever 84 upwardly pushes the pin member 86 upwardly therewith against the saddle portion 58 of the pawl member 52 to raise the tooth portion 50 of the pawl member off of the teeth of the impact member 42, thereby releasing the impact member for propelling a ball 18 over the playing surface.

As seen best in FIGS. 7 and 8, a plurality of ratchet teeth 48 are provided over a given length of the impact member 42 in order to provide means for varying the impact force to be effected on a ball 18. In other words, the impact force will be determined by the particular position at which the pawl tooth will be placed along the series of ratchet teeth. The farther to the left (as viewed in FIGS. 7 and 8) that the pawl tooth 50 is positioned to cock the impact member, the greater will be the kinetic energy stored in the spring 46 and consequently the greater the impact force of member 42 when the pawl tooth 50 is lifted ofiof the ratchet bar.

A pair of guide rails 90 are secured to the sides of the housing 40 and extend horizontally therefrom in the front thereof to direct a propelled ball 18 in a generally straight path away from the ball propelling device 16.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom as some modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A pool type game apparatus which includes a base structure defining a gameboard having a playing surface over which balls may be propelled, a plurality of ball receiving pockets disposed at selected positions about the playing surface, bumper rail means substantially surrounding the playing surface, a peripheral lip on top of said base structure substantially surrounding the playing surface, a ball propelling device pivotally mounted on said playing surface spaced from said bumper rail means and including a ball propelling element for propelling balls over the playing surface away from the ball propelling device into contact with other balls or the rail means or into one of said pockets, actuating means for said ball propelling device including a rotating portion disposed on the top of said peripheral lip outside of said playing surface for manipulation by players of the game to effect rotating of said ball propelling device without touching the ball propelling device or extending ones hands or arms over the playing surface, said rotating portion including a knob rotatably mounted on said peripheral lip for rotation about a generally vertical axis and connected by linkage extending beneath said playing surface to the ball propelling device to rotate the ball propelling device in response to rotation of the knob, and a release portion mounted on the top of said peripheral lip outside of said playing surface adjacent to said rotating portion for manipulation by players of the game for actuating said ball propelling element to propel a ball from said ball propelling device without touching said ball propelling device or extending ones hands or arms over said ball propelling element on depressing said button. 

1. A pool type game apparatus which includes a base structure defining a gameboard having a playing surface over which balls may be propelled, a plurality of ball receiving pockets disposed at selected positions about the playing surface, bumper rail means substantially surrounding the playing surface, a peripheral lip on top of said base structure substantially surrounding the playing surface, a ball propelling device pivotally mounted on said playing surface spaced from said bumper rail means and including a ball propelling element for propelling balls over the playing surface away from the ball propelling device into contact with other balls or the rail means or into one of said pockets, actuating means for said ball propelling device including a rotating portion disposed on the top of said peripheral lip outside of said playing surface for manipulation by players of the game to effect rotating of said ball propelling device without touching the ball propelling device or extending one''s hands or arms over the playing surface, said rotating portion including a knob rotatably mounted on said peripheral lip for rotation about a generally vertical axis and connected by linkage extending beneath said playing surface to the ball propelling device to rotate the ball propelling device in response to rotation of the knob, and a release portion mounted on the top of said peripheral lip outside of said playing surface adjacent to said rotating portion for manipulation by players of the game for actuating said ball propelling element to propel a ball from said ball propelling device without touching said ball propelling device or extending one''s hands or arms over the playing surface said release portion including a button on the end of a reciprocating plunger member which engages a lever member on the underside of said playing surface, said lever member being operatively associatEd with said ball propelling element of the ball propelling device to actuate the ball propelling element in response to depressing said button, said button being disposed generally centrally of said rotating knob and connected by linkage extending axially through said rotating knob and beneath said playing surface to release said ball propelling element on depressing said button. 